Bike route designation sought in Oshtemo Township for stretch of North Drake Road

OSHTEMO TOWNSHIP, MI -- Oshtemo Township will ask the Kalamazoo County Road Commission to designate a stretch of North Drake Road as a bike route as plans proceed for non-motorized paths and sidewalks along that stretch and continuing down to Stadium Drive.

Oshtemo Township is seeking a bicycle route designation for a portion of North Drake Road.Kalamazoo Gazette file

The township board on Tuesday unanimously voted to request the bike route designation from the road commission and to approve the construction documents for road, stormwater and non-motorized improvements along North Drake from Grand Prairie Road to Ravine Road, contingent on resolution of staff comments and concerns.

Bike Friendly Kalamazoo asked the township to consider requesting the bike route designation from Ravine south to Grand Prairie. Supervisor Libby Heiny-Cogswell said the stretch of North Drake is a border road of Kalamazoo Township, and that board planned to consider making the request as well.

The city of Kalamazoo has jurisdiction over the next stretch of North Drake Road and plans to paint bike lanes from Grand Prairie to West Main Street this summer, Heiny-Cogswell said.

The township has been working with the road commission and its consultant to design non-motorized sidewalk and path facilities from Grand Prairie to Ravine. The township has been granted a Transportation Alternatives grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation for the facilities.

The road commission submitted construction documents for the road, stormwater and non-motorized improvements to MDOT on Friday and sent them to the township for staff review at the same time.

Township Engineer Marc Elliott said the plans submitted to MDOT include a 10-foot path on the west side of Drake from H Avenue to Ravine, but do not include a hoped-for sidewalk on the west side from Grand Prairie to H Avenue because the road commission has not yet secured right-of-way easements for that stretch.

Elliott said because the road commission had already hired a consultant for road and stormwater work and the township asked to add a non-motorized plan, the process differed from the township’s normal approach and it was difficult to get resident buy-in to secure the easements.

Elliott said he does not anticipate any difficulty with the grant due to the change but recommends continuing to pursue the easements and plan the sidewalks for some point in the future if not this summer.

Township Attorney James Porter said while the road commission has authority over the roads, the township has authority over non-motorized pathways. He attributed the inability to secure the easements to the township’s lack of involvement in the beginning stages of the project. He said the township’s inability to meet with residents at the very beginning and have a longer dialogue contributed to the problems obtaining easements.

Heiny-Cogswell said the jurisdictions along Drake Road are complex and she appreciated the efforts of everyone involved.

“We’re dealing with shared space,” Heiny-Cogswell said. “Our interest is in providing non-motorized transportation in the same space where the road commission is trying to provide motorized transportation and stormwater management. Cooperation is very important.”